Tube-making machine.



PATBNTED APR. 5, 1904.

f H. INMAN.

Y TUBE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18. 1900.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1- NO MODEL.

PATENTBD APR. 5, 1904.

H. INMAN. TUBE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16. 1900.

N0 MODEL.

No. 750,500. PATENTED APR. 5, 1904.

H. INMAN.

TUBE MAKING MAGHINE.

APPLIDATION FILED APE. 16, 1900.

5 BHEETS-SEBET 3.

H0 MODEL.

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No. ri50,500. PATBNTED APR. 5, 1904. H. INMAN.

TUBE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 10. 1900.

N0 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEBT 4.

PATENTED APR. 5, 1904.

H. INMAN.

TUBE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED APB. 1e, 1900.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

I0 MODEL.

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Patented April 5, 1904.

UNiThD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE INMAN, OE AMSTERDAM, NEW `YORK.

TUBE-MAKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 756,500, dated April 5, 1904.

Application filed April 16, 1900. Serial No. 13,023. (No model.)

To LZZ wiz/07% it nea/y concern.-

Be it known that I, HORACE INMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Amsterdam,in the county of Montgomery and State of New York, `have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tube-Making Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a tube-making machine, and more especially to a machine for making rectangular tubes of paper or similar material, such as are used for cigarette, match,

and other boxes; and' it has for its'object to provide an improved machine for this purpose which shall be simple, cheap, and effective in operation; and to these ends my invention consists in the various features of construction and arrangement of parts having the general mode of operation substantially as hereinafter l enlarged transverse section on the line 5 5,.

Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a similar view on the line 6 6, Fig. l. Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the folding-rods and connections. Fig. 8 is a similar side view of the same.

Eig. l0 is a horizontal longitudinal section thereof, and Fig. l1 a transverse section of the same.

The principal object of my present invention is to provide a machine which shall rapidly, cheaply, and effectively form a continuous rectangular tube out of a web of paper orl other similar material, which web is creased, folded, and united into a tube and delivered in its open folded condition. Heretofore it has been common to make such tubes and to fold the parts down flat into close proximity to each other, so that the tube is delivered in a flattened condition, and after being severed into the propersized sections these sections have to be opened by hand. This is a disadvantage for many reasons, it being sufficient to say that when the paper or other material is folded flat it is liable to break at the creases unless a very su- Fig. 9 is a verticalv `longitudinal section of the former.

ing the tubes and delivering them in their open condition -this and other disadvantages are avoided. y

With this general statement of the purpose and object of my invention l will now proceed to describe the embodiment shown in the drawings, it being understood that the general principles of my invention may be embodied in other forms and details of construction Without departing from the spirit thereof, and I do not limit myself to the precise construction and arrangement shown.

The whole mechanism is mounted on a suitable frame A, which, as shown, -is very simple in its character, being made up of longitudinal bars united by suitable crossj pieces and mounted on suitable legs, which are broken away in the drawings, and in this way I can cheaply form a very substantial frame.

Mounted on the frame and extending longitudinally therethrough is a table A', over which the material passes, said material being supplied from any suitable source of supply. (Not shown.) As the web passes over the table it first receives a line of glue or other adhesive material on its edge, and for this purpose any gluing apparatus may be used, I having shown a box B, containing the glue, in which rotates a glue-roller B, and there is a suitable adjustable scraper B2 for regulating the supply of glue tothe roller, and preferably a presser-roll B3, shown in the present .instance as a grooved wheel adj ustably mountrolls O are provided with circular blades c',

adapted to cooperate with the grooves in the grooved rolls so as to crease or indent the paper or other material longitudinally, defining the line of fold andfacilitating its being folded accurately without at the same time IOO Ving-sh aft.

the web is folded to formthe tube.

breaking or destroying the texture of the material on the foldinglines. These rolls are adjustable on their shafts, and the upper shaft is adjustable with relation to the lower shaft,

so that they may be arranged to form boxes or tubes of different sizes and of different materials. The shafts of these creasing or indenting rolls are preferably driven positively through connections hereinafter described.

In order to feed the material through the machine, suitable feed-rolls are provided, and

-these are preferably arranged adjacent to the creasing or indenting rolls, and in this instance I have shown the feed-rolls D and Dl mounted on suitable shafts D2 D3, supported in suitable standards D4 D5 attached to the frame of the machine. The'upper feed-roll D is shown in the form of a roller, disk, or wheel, the surface of which is preferably knurled, as indicated, or otherwise formed so as to readily adhere to the material being fed, and this roll is preferably positively driven from the driv- The feed-roll Dl is shown as being smaller than the feed-roll D and projects through an opening in the. table A', and this is preferably geared so that the feed-roll D has the same surface speed as the feed-roll D.

suitable way, as by the holder E, dependingfrom an arched or straddle piece E2, attached to the side of the frame. This holder E is shown (see Fig; 2) in the form of a clamp embracing the former and having an upwardlyextending stud or arm adjustably mounted in the arched piece. This former may be variously constructed; but in Figs. 9, 10, and 1l I have shown, on an enlargedscale, a preferable construction. As shown herein, the

former comprises three longitudinal pieces, the center .e of which 1s preferably of steel or wrought-iron and the outer pieces e e are of 'brass or similar material, which furnishes a smooth polished surface, offering less resistance to the material as it passes over the same, and this I find to be avery satisfactory combination, as the steel furnishes the requisite stiffness and the brass surfaces are most desirable for the passage of the material. These parts are secured together by countersunk screws or bolts e2. The former vis also provided with a number of friction-rollers arranged in different positions to cooperate with the pressure-rollers hereinafter described, so

that the material being folded can be pressed closely against the former without causing undue friction. These `friction-rollers E3 E4 E5 are shown as constructed with ball-bearings.

Thus each roller consists of two parts e3, each of which is grooved on adjacent faces, as at @4, and their outer edges, as at e5, are cut away, and the two parts are held together by a suitable bolt or rivet e5. The cut-away portions e5 embrace the sides of the central steel blade e, in which are formedv openings to receive the friction-rollers, and the faces of these openings @7 form the external bearing for the balls es, while the parts e3 are each provided with projectingfportions e, which together form the inner bearing for the balls, leaving a clearance am on either side of the balls. It will thus be seen that I provide the former with friction-rollers practically built into theformer, the central portion of the former forming one of the bearings of the balls, and the rollers are made in two parts, held together by bolts or rivets for convenience of manufacture and assembling the parts. Each of the frictionrollers is so arranged with relation to the body of the former that a portion of its surface extends slightly. beyond the contour of the former, as clearly shown in Fig. 9.

Arranged to cooperate with the frictionroller E5, for instance, is a feed-roller F, adjustably mounted on the shaft F in suitable bearings on the frame A and arranged to be driven from the power-shaft, and this roller is arranged below the table A and projects* through a slot therein, as shown in Fig. 2, and coperates with the friction-roller E5. While this feed-roller may be differently made, I prefer to make it of leather, as this gives a sticking or leathery surface, which tends to graspand feed thev material positively.

Cooperating with the former are side feedrollers G H, each mounted on shafts Gl H', supported on the table A/, and providedwith beveled pinions G2 H2, engaging similar pinions G3 H3 on the shaft G4, mounted in bearings in the frame of the machine and connected to be driven positively.- These side feed-rollers, as hereinafter described, tend to `hold the paper or other material up against the sides of the former E, and while they may be differently constructed they are shown as made up of disks g L, of rubber, arranged between disks g L, of steel or similar material, the rubber being for the purpose of giving good adhesion between the rollers and the material and the steel being used for strength. Arranged in the rear of these side feed-rollers is a roller I, which tends to hold the upper flaps or edges of the paper or other material in position on the former, and behind this roller is a pressure-roller J, formed with flanges J adapted to embrace the former and press the web down onto the former, insuring adhesion of the pasted parts. There is a similar roller K, having flanges K and mounted on a shaft K2, arranged below the former, and preferably, as shown in Fig. l, out of line with the roller J, and these lianged pres- IOO I.IO

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sure-rollers J and K are arranged to coperate with the friction-rollers E3 Ef, respectively, of the former.

It now remains to describe the folding devices for folding the web around the former, and while various forms of folding devices may be used in connection with the other devices or parts of them already described I have shown a very simple, cheap, and effective folding apparatus. i

Mounted on the table A' are two adjustable standards L L', to which are attached the wires M M', which in the present instance, however, are `formed in one piece, being joined at the U-shaped portion M2, and these wires are attached to lugs m m', mounted in the adjustable standards L L'. The forward ends of these wires rest on the table A' and are tapered, as at m2, so that the outer edges of the web will ride up these wires, and as they gradually converge and increase in distance from the surface of the table A' the web is folded vertically along the vertical sides of the former. To aid in this operation, I preferably provide additional wires N N', which,as shown, are also provided withlugs n, which are mounted in the adjustable standards L L', and these wires are arranged below the wires M M' and in closer proximity to the Vertical sides of the former E. I sometimes provide a standard' N2, which is adjustable in a slot N3 in the table, 'and this standard engages the wires N and M and holds the former in position to accomplish its work. The slot is substantially parallel to the wire N, but intersects the aXis of the wire M, and the adjustment of the pin does not materially affect the position of the wire N, but will move the free end of the wire M laterally, which may be desirable at times when certain kinds of material are used. Mounted on the table A' is a straddle-piece O', and attached to this is an adjustable arm O2, carrying a wire O, which, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, is bent so that its free end eX- tends over the former E and tends to fold over and down upon the upper surfaceof the former the pasted edge of 'the web. An adjustingscrew O3 may be provided which may serve as a guide for the upper folded edge of the web before it is folded over and insures the pasted edge being folded first or prior to the folding of the upper or outer edge, which is pressed down onto the pasted edge, as hereinafter described. Attached to the frame of the machine is a straddle-pece P', and on this is mounted an adjustable arm P2, carrying a plate-folder P, which tends to fold over the unpasted edge of the web on top of the pasted edge. Also attached to this straddle-piece is an adjustable arm Q2, carrying a folder Q, which extends directly over the upper surface of the former E and assists in laying the folds properly one on top of the other on the former before they pass to the pressure-rollers I, J,

and K. It will be observed that all the parts of this folding apparatus are exceedingly simple and are adjustable, so that they are adapted to be used in `connection with different formers and can be adjusted in different relatiors thereto, according to thematerials being use The various parts of the machine may be driven by any suitable mechanism, and I have shown a shaft R, to which power is applied in any suitable way, (not showm) R' being a beltshifter or clutch mechanism or similar device for starting and stopping the machine. Mounted on the shaft R is a gear-wheel S, engaging a gear S', connected to the glue-roller B, and this engages a gear S2, connectedwith the presser-roll B3 over the glue-roller. The shaft C4 is provided with a gear S4, meshing with the gear S and engaging With a similar gear S5 on the shaft C2. Meshing with the gear S4 is a gear S, engaging a pinion S7 on the shaft D3, and this in turn engages the gear S8 on the shaft D2 of the feed-rolls.l Also mounted on the shaft R is a beveled-face gear-wheel T, which carries a suitable belt or cord engaging the beveled-face gear-Wheel T' on the shaft F' of the feed-roller F. Also on the shaft R is a pulley T2, having a belt adapted to engage the pulley T3 on the shaft K2, which carries a pinion T4, engaging a gear T5 on the shaft Gr4 of the beveled pinions driving the side feed-rollers. Also on the shaft K2 is another gear, T6, engaging a gear T' on the shaft J 3 of the pressure roller J. All these gears are arranged in proper relation to each other, so that the parts will cooperate in proper time and be driven at the desired speed.

From this general description of the construction and arrangement of the Various parts of the machine the operation will be understood by those skilled in the art, and it will be seen that the operation is continuous. The web of paper or other material being fed into the machine, a suitable line of paste or glue being applied thereto, it is indented or scored or creased and thence folded up around the former and pressed in contact therewith and the two adjacent edges tightly pressed together, insuring a securer union of the parts.

It will be seen that in the present instance the former (which is rectangular in shape) is arranged with its largest dimensions in vertical planes, and the formed tube passes olf the former completed and may be severed into suitable lengths or otherwise treated as desired.

What I claim isd 1. In a machine for forming open rectangular tubes, the combination with pasting, creasing and feeding devices, of a rectangular former composed of three parts, the central portion having openings forming bearings, friction-rollers composed of two corresponding disks the adjacent faces of which are ICO grooved and are provided with bearings, and balls interposed between said bearings and the bearings in the central portion of the former, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for forming open rectangular tubes, the combination with pasting, creasing and feeding devices, of a rectangular former having a central portion provided with openings forming bearings, rollers comprising two corresponding parts having grooved adjacent faces the outer edges of which are cut away and having bearings, and balls arranged between the bearings in the rollers and in the former,v substantially as described.

3. In a machine forforming rectangular tubes, the combination with a rectangular former, of adjustable standards, two sets of wires mounted therein and extending longitudinally along the sides of the former, a straddle-piece, an adjustable support thereon, a wire supported therein extending across the top of the former, a second straddle-piece, and plate-folders adjustably mounted on the same above the former, substantially as described.

4. In a machine `for forming rectangular tubes, the combination with a rectangular former, of wires extending longitudinally along the sides of the former, a wire extending over and across the upper surface of the former, an adjustable screw-guide arranged over the former, and supports for the wires and guide, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for forming rectangular tubes, the combination with a rectangular former, of side feed-rollers engaging the same, the rollers comprising alternate disks of rubber and metal, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HORACE INMAN.

Witnesses:

H. B. WALDRON, CHAs. W. CLARK. 

